withthelaw, secretaryclinton ordered this review to determine exactly what happened in benghazi. that is how we can learn and improve. i want to convey our appreciation to ambassador pickering, admiral mullen and 13. -- their team. in the hours and days after the terrorist attacks, at the secretary's direction, which took immediate steps to protect people and our post. we launched a worldwide review of the overall security posture. interagency teams give particular scrutiny to high threat posed. the pentagon agreed to dispatch additional marines to post around the world. we asked congress for funds to hire new diplomatic security personnel. we're updating our diplomat procedures to increase the number of experienced and well- trained staffs serving at those posts. tom and i will be discussing all this work and more with congress tomorrow. for now, let me make one other point. i have been a proud member of the foreign service for more than 30 years. i've had the honor of serving as a chief of mission overseas. i know that diplomacy by its very nature must sometimes be practiced in dangerous p

ofbecominglaw. thatis what i said back on july 25. we allow that vote and i said we knew it did not pass constitutional muster and that democrats would proceed to a revenue bill that originated in the house as the constitution requires if they were serious and as i called on them to do last week. the so-called senate bill is no more than a glorified sense of the senate revolution. let's put that talking point aside. host: mitch mcconnell -- or is a story from politico.com, "why they will not go over the cliff." "they see an advantage in negotiating with republicans that will feel free not to raise taxes once the rates have gone out. the president is pulling in the mid 50's. there is still time for the dynamic to shift. speed banner will stress the house has passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff. there is an ad we want to point out in "the new york times" and "the washington post." together" rds "come as a way to send a message to congress. "the struggle of today is for a vast future also." the words of abraham lincoln. jim from georgia on the republican line. caller: thank

they want to bill, the infrastructure, the programs they makeintolaw. guest:i think james hits on the virtue of a flat tax, having a low, single rate, getting rid of all the loopholes in the tax code and having the government learn to live within its means. that would take some time, but it is eminently doable with positive reforms on the entitlement for younger people. you do not have to change the benefit formulas for those on medicare or social security or who are about to go on those systems. as younger people know, those systems are headed for a crash. the sooner we reform them in a positive way, the better. the key to do it is not by raising taxes, but by having a low single rate and they learn to live within it. i think you'll have a much more prosperous country for it. host: let's end where we started. what do you think the best solution in your personal view and your business view is to the fiscal cliff situation? guest: aside from not doing something foolish and the next three or four days -- that is why i do not mind kicking the can down the road -- would be to follo

. >> with that perspective, now that the affordable care act will begin to become fully finalizedintolawoverthe next couple years, we keep hearing those on the conservative side is concerns about what it will do to the country. what are your concerns? will this be a good thing? >> yes, it will. right now, we have $50 billion a year of uncompensated care. people who do not have insurance, do not have medicaid, medicare, private insurance, mode carry coverage, they are not insured. they have access to health care in emergency rooms and if they cannot pay, and they do not go to bankruptcy, it costs -- the care does not go away. it is shifted to the rest of us who do have insurance. $50 billion. it could be as much as $1,500 per person. paying for those who do not. you have everybody in the system all injured one way or another, then the uncompensated care goes away. it is no longer borne by those of us who are beneficiaries of an insurance program. that alone is a hidden tax people do not focus on unless it is pointed out to them. it raises the cost to everyone else. the fact never gets talked about. s

intolaw. ifyou're among republicans is if you reach an agreement now and agree to tax increases, the spending cuts will get undone or never will be followed through on. that's one of the things that has held back talks, because republicans are skeptical that democrats will follow through. host: charles is on the independent line from colorado. caller: good morning, steve. i listened to it the myopic dogma in this segment over and over. the only people i can blame on this are the american people. the people who sit here and listen to these guys that are extremists and and they vote him into office -- them into office. i hear people say let's get rid of epa. if you look at how much epa takes out of our budget, that's like worrying about nothing gary people need to turn off the tv and start studying more. crack some books. look at economic spirit trickle-down economics does not work. name a country where it has worked? maybe estonia. but it's not working in greece. i heard a great saying that says when time gets tough, everyone is a keynesian. turn off the tv. not c-span of course.

for granted, three great civilrightslaws, medicare,just the vibrancy in those tapes, all you have to do is listen and he's back alive again swearing and being the most fascinating person that i've ever met in public life. and the books are helping because they create this giant character. he deserves it. >> and giant situations in front of him the way he came in as well as the way he left. >> a giant character and also -- >> dark clouds. >> you were there closely with him, but also so complicated. our relationships with our presidents are so personal, and the fact is he accomplished remarkable things politically. and yet you never get through a couple of pages of carol's books where you go, ew, this was not a good guy. >> i don't think -- that's not true. i disagree that he's not a good guy. he's a strange guy. >> they're all strange. >> there are not many presidents that take you into the bathroom and talk to you while they're in the bathroom. >> not enough. >> there's not many presidents that when he talks to you violates the normal human space between people so your head is right up

in places like california and hawaii because of landuselawsfromthe 1960's. second, if you look to the community reinvestment act, if you think that is the cause of the bubble, you have to explain why there was not a bubble in houston, raleigh, n.c., that winter? -- atlanta? it applied to those cities just as much as san francisco and miami, yet there were bubbles there and no balls in houston, omaha, -- bubbles in houston, ohio, -- global hawk, where have you. host: you conclude the book with "home ownership is not just an american dream, a dream of people all over the world. guest: that is absolutely right. a lot of research has shown that homeownership is one way to help people get out of poverty. if you want to start a small business, it turns out most are started with a loan on a business owner's home. if you want to put your kids through college, you can borrow against your home. homeownership is a way to build wealth. yet we have government saying we should get more people into apartments, fewer people into cinder the -- single-family homes. host: what is the track over l

in their own pockets or they become lobbyists. this secretedalawthatthey should not be able to become lobbyists for a few years sucker they leave congress or senate. they need to just bring america back up. if it would bring more jobs back to america, then we would have more taxes to be collected. host: more in the financial times this morning. capitol hill plays out a cliffhanger is the headline. the right the mood of the members matches the state of negotiations, l tempered, resentful and having their christmas breaks interrupted by another partisan budget impasse and in no frame of mind a compromise. we are talking about the senate negotiating a on the air. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am going to join the democrats, at least most of them, i hope. i am so disgusted and so disheartened. i feel that the republicans are being obstructionists on purpose. that is obvious. anyhow, they need to -- it is not about parties and politics anymore. it comes down to looking out for america. ok? host: why do you think they are being obstructionist? what do they have to gain by doing th